I always give any show 3-episodes before I make my determination if it's worth more than that. I'm eagerly anticipating next weeks' season finale, and I hope the ending leaves an opening for another run. This show doesn't have the marvel that is James Spader but the ride has been fun, and worth the time invested.
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mwatts-856-4397387 April 2017
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ronbell-2398423 July 2020I think this gets a hard time because people expect the Blacklist but it's not. It's a side story for Tom from the Blacklist, one of that shows better characters.
This show is very decent. Good story, good acting, plenty of action and lots of twists.
The people responsible should have probably dropped Blacklist from the shows title. Don't kick it because it's not The Blacklist. -
graduatedan13 April 2017The indefatigable Tom Keen from The Blacklist sets off on new adventures as part of a shadowy organization contracted by the US government that may or may not be the good guys. As with The Blacklist, it's hard to tell who's naughty and nice in this exciting TV show that, while derivative at times, benefits immeasurably from breathless pacing and meticulously plotted stories. At its core, this is a story of love and betrayal, with liberal doses of paranoia thrown in. I wouldn't want to live in Tom Keen's world, but I have to admit that it makes for an entertaining hour of television.
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Why do all the shows I love get killed in the crib?
This show was one of the best spinoff shows I've ever seen. Great tie-ins with the original series (comparable to the 'Six Million Dollar Man' and 'The Bionic Woman' - but so much better; don't judge those shows through a 2019 lens, they were great in the '70s), with a fantastic independent mystery/thriller setup with unusual twists in each episode.
Not to mention the genius casting- two of my favorite character actors, Famke Jenssen and Terry O'Quinn, playing the star-crossed, brilliant yet potentially crazy divorced couple. They happen to be the true parents of 'The Blacklist''s Tom Keen, Ryan Eggold - whose likability and attractiveness is through the roof - and he must have his pick of casting in multiple shows at this point. He'll probably end up jumping to films
Why didd you not give this show a real chance, NBC? -
speedcanary18 May 2017I rate the show a 7 out of 10 because it had great potential. I loved the edgy tone of the show and the high paced plots. The team was great and intense. It felt fresh to me, and intriguing.
Admittedly, I've never watched The Blacklist, the show this spun off from. Perhaps that one is better, But I don't know. I really liked this show. The writers wrote this show in a way that only made it last one season too, so perhaps they knew it was just going to be a limited run.
Glad to be introduced to Ryan Eggold. He is a STAR. -
vladislavvoronin24 February 2017Of course, this is not The Blacklist, without Reddington. But the idea of making a spin-off with some of the lesser-than-leading characters from the main series is, well, fascinating. The pilot was entertaining, but definitely lacked the depth and intrigue of the original series. I just hope the authors manage to make the main characters a bit less flat than they currently are. Eggold is a decent actor, but his character needs to mature. Hopefully, this does not become just another action show.
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Cameron633 March 2017First off i love the Blacklist,but this is poor in every department. Actors sleepwalking their roles,plots seen a zillion times.
The action scenes run of the mill,no tension whatsoever. The reason the Blacklist is such a hit is because it is different, good script and charismatic acting.
I really wanted to like this but it is the pits. -
So far I'm enjoying this. Tom makes a pretty good main character, and it focuses on his history and backstory with very little involvement of characters from the original series. I really liked the first couple seasons of the original Blacklist, but the recent story lines around Tom and Elizabeth's daughter became dull and uninspiring. All in all its got interesting story lines and good action sequences.
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draceb12 March 2017So far I enjoy the characters they are building. I find that today stories need to unfold and people always jump on the hate wagon to early to allow the story to be told. This series has action, suspense and interesting characters, the uncovering of Tom's story is very good.
I feel the key is how they weave it into the Blacklist to give this world a sense of cohesion with the BL universe. It will be nice to see Liz and Red join the fray. I am enjoying it thus far 3 episodes in and look forward to seeing what is next. I find good stories are not in if the story has similarities to other stories but the nuances of how the story is told and the feelings we get toward the characters who are setting the pace.
I have always thought Tom was a bad ass and loved Famke she is top notch and nice on the eyes. Again the key is in how they cross over the two shows and I sure hope people give this show a chance to develop as i feel every spin off needs time to stretch its legs. Until later I think this is a great watch. -
thiagosblancos25 February 2017So far, it's OK, it's not surprising for The Blacklist's viewers since we've already seen a glimpse, yes, we want to understand Tom's story and whatever happened there but does that involve filming a spin off? I'm not so sure. Also, Alias was in my head the whole time, it looks a like it and not in the good way.
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I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person, but, for the life of me I can't figure this program out. There is no concept, the actors are not interesting and there seems to be no continuity from one scene to the next. It looks like the original writers have nothing to do with this spin off. I sincerely hope that the network is not considering replacing the original "Blacklist" with this trash. There is no Blacklist without the original characters or the original concept.
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archyros-3090926 February 2017That is the best comparison I can make. This is kind of like the old TV- series, "Mission:Impossible," using characters from The Blacklist to form the incredibly competent team. The show is very fast-paced, and unlike Scorpion, they do not explain how everything works, or fill in their entire plan for us to follow along in fascination. Mainly because they just don't have the time. This pilot episode took place on two continents, and they were on the clock. The actors are all enjoyable, except for the geek: he seems to be part-genius, part-comic relief. Hopefully he will improve with time. And the underlying arc about Tom's parents is interesting, keeping us guessing about their motivations. We wonder if his mother is truly a cold-hearted snake pretending to care, or if his father is wrong about her. I look forward to finding out.
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Characters are great - Tom, Scottie and Mattias work well together but it is awful without the focus on Reddington.
A real hotch-potch of an attempt at a spin off. Never liked split screen rubbish in anything but coped because I loved the characters.
Shame season 2 has been axed rather than fixing the drunk writers and having another go. -
Plazeebo14 March 2017I love the Blacklist. It's novel, exciting and interesting.
This unfortunate lovechild between Leverage and CSI:Cyber is no good.
The editing is that of a typical heist show. Tech guy narrates as the heist takes place. "There is an entrance 20" to the right. As you go through this, you need to take out the guard..." ad nauseum. Split screen and high tech all over.
Terry O'Quinn is completely wasted in this show. Remember how cool he was on Lost? Not here.
There's nothing of the old Blacklist mystery in this show. -
lovenutella-6601314 April 2017I've been having a hard time finding good new espionage shows lately. After Chuck, Nikita, White Collar, Breaking In, and others ended I actually tried to watch The Blacklist and I didn't like it at all.
This show is so good though. There is a lot of drama and conspiracy and they don't focus on romance or anything since the main character is already married to the main in Blacklist.
I've only seen maybe one episode of The Blacklist and it is not needed at all to enjoy this show. I'm still screaming about how season 1 ended and I'm hoping for a season two. -
The premise is a bit strange. Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold) is a former CIA agent. He is contacted by Howard Hargrave his estranged father, who faked his own death and lives in hiding. Howard had created Halcyon, a private world investigative service that can carry guns anywhere in the world and can kill just about anyone. His wife Scotty (Famke Janssen) now runs the firm. Howard doesn't trust her and wants his son to work for and spy on his mother...and not tell her that he is the son she is searching for night and day. This works as a minor subplot throughout the episodes as they perform made-for-TV action episodes that bordered on being lame. Then in the final episodes the minor subplot becomes the main plot and the series goes limp.
The main problem was that after watching the series, the character development was not that great. Let's make the fat guy (Adrian Martinez) the computer geek. It worked for Jurassic Park. Famke Janssen who I loved in so many roles, had trouble pulling off the caring mom and cold killer role. Solomon (Edi Gathegi) might as well been a killer android. I wish they had some more scenes of Tom at home so we could have gotten to know the main protagonist.
Might work for some people. I will take a pass on season 2. -
jeersNcheers27 February 2021Loved this series! 8 was not enough episodes! I'll just have to settle for Blacklist and New Amsterdam for now...
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navtec7 March 2017Not bad but not exceptional. At least not yet. I saw two episodes. There is potential if the writers fill in the plot holes. Like the instantaneous travel to far off places. The availability of floor plans for any structure in the world. Remotely connecting to and manipulating things that really have no connectivity.
There is a similarity to the old Mission Impossible TV series in that the solutions are multi-level but without the clever twists so far.
The action was fast paced on the two episodes. Everything will need to be more believable to raise this above all the other boring action series.
The tone, pacing and writing are completely different from the Blacklist so other than the characters they have nothing in common. -
ilisealba14 March 2017I am thoroughly enjoying this show. The interaction between the characters is darkly humorous. The plot lines are original, particularly the most recent Russian training camp one. Techno geeks will enjoy the modern take on Mission Impossible gadgets. The pacing and camera usage leaves one breathless in a good way. It is difficult to discern whom to trust, which adds to the appeal. It truly feels like the negative reviews here are based upon pre-existing bias against the actual show on screen, which I highly recommend.
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letiamj-9508813 March 2022For those saying, it's not like The Blacklist there are similarities.
Elizabeth Keen didn't know her mom came into Reddington's live for a larger, secretive purpose. Liz is a FBI agent but who has tendencies closely related to secret operative. Red is a bad guy for a reason.
Tom also did not know his parents. His mom came into Tom's life for a larger, secretive purpose. Tom was trained as a secret operative. -
bobtobias25 February 2017No plot, no acting, to tension, no drama, no nothing. This is said taking the show in isolation. I'm not comparing it to Blacklist, Kinght Rider (the remake), or even Work It (Where the remake might be a possible vehicle for Adrian Martinez but, I'm getting ahead of myself).
Things I found particularly objectionable (please note that I have flagged this review as containing spoilers) were...
The depiction by Adrian Martinez as an overweight geek who goes into a drooling frenzy at the sight of a scantly clad lady and the reverse Odeipussian :) attraction Susan Hargrave shows towards Tom. (That sub par subplot is like an obvious bad joke that most people are smart enough to avoid and the writers of this train wreck though was too clever to miss.
Back to Martinez, his taking up space in front of a camera doesn't qualify as acting and his stilted saying of words doesn't even rate as reading aloud. Perhaps this hour of almost dead air will attract enough people who don't bother changing the channel that the show will continue past the eight episodes that are already paid for. If so, this guy has to be one of the first jettisoned before the second onslaught of this show on decent entertainment. -
esverdad198227 February 2017For me, this first episode lived up to my high expectations. I am a big fan of Tom Keene and the other characters who are in search of redemption by doing bad for good causes pleased me too.
I think the tension between the personas and pitches of Tom's parents make for an intriguing subplot. My hunch is the father is actually the bad guy even though he is presented mainly as the good guy in episode 1.
I think this series will win fans as it gets time to develop and hope no premature decisions are made about its fate. If viewers can show some willingness to try a new twist on a solid tale and NBC can show some courage in their commitment, I predict Blacklist Redemption will be a winner. -
By episode 6, Redemption has begun to redeem itself. But, I dislike the character of Scottie for one reason only: poor script writing for her character. I liked the idea of Scottie being his mother when she was first introduced in Blacklist, but not anymore. She is a stupidly written character! Writers really bombed with her.
There are two characters on this series that should cross over to Blacklist, Nez Rowan and Tom Keen's father, Howard Hargrave, otherwise get rid of the rest of them. None of them are worth wasting our time getting to know. -
KathleenK2228 February 2017There are so many great series around now that this one needed to step up its appeal to include surprises,and wow moments but it did not succeed yet. A few reviews went too far in their condemnation though. Tom is not too bad in the lead role so maybe the script let him down. I found it hard to believe the female lead was old enough to be his mother but I checked and found a 20 year difference. The actors mostly lacked an on screen presence but maybe they were not given any material to work with. The father is a possible exception. I have only watched one episode so will give it another chance but it needs to provide the actors with something to work with and gain a wow factor in some way. It needs atmosphere and tension as well as something new and different to gain audience approval.
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ozzys_realm17 May 2017this is not a Blacklist and i hardly forced myself to sit and see it. I was positive surprised to see more mystery about Tom's parents. Good stuff. Similar like mystery of Elizabeth's father. Action scenes are mostly just like any other average crime action TV show. Hoping that season 2 will give us more then season 1 did. But i still miss Reddington